New study to look at impact of early treatment with aggressive DMTs

A new study will investigate whether early treatment with aggressive disease modifying therapies (DMTs) could benefit people with MS.

The project has received $10 million for clinical trials in the UK and the US. It will last five years and involve 800 people with relapsing MS from the UK.

Fast or slow?

Dr Nikos Evangelou from the University of Nottingham, who is running the trial in the UK, said: “As we diagnose MS, we still don’t know how best to treat it. Some doctors advocate hitting the disease hard to avoid the damage and disability that can develop early, and some suggest going more slowly to avoid potential side effects of the medicine.”

Our James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership asked people with MS what research questions were most important to them. Answering this question is one of the top 10 priorities.

Vital support

We gave £100,000 seed funding to develop the initiative through the UK MS Clinical Trials Network (CTN). The trial is now being funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute in the US.

Dr Susan Kohlhaas, Interim Director of Research at the MS Society said: “MS is an unpredictable condition that is different for everyone, making it difficult for people to know how to balance the risks and benefits of intensive treatments.

“We’re proud to have supported the development of this programme through our Clinical Trial Network and look forward to these important questions being answered.”

What’s next?

We’ll share details of how people can participate in the study when they become available. This may not be for a few months.